Currently, many exercise and nutrition supplements are sold in a powdered form such that a user can easily mix a specific or measured volume of the powdered product into a beverage of their choice for consumption. The range of current powdered supplements is broad and includes, for example, powdered supplement protein formulas for muscle builders and athletes, to baby formulas for nursing mothers to virtually any fluid-soluble edible substance which may be mixed with a liquid such as water or milk or other liquid mixtures adapted for mixing with powdered additives.
Although consumption of such powdered supplements which require measured volumes of the powder to be combined with the liquid when used in the home can be easily accomplished with cups or jars, and available measuring devices, many users, especially those who prefer to consume a supplement at a specific time of the day, prefer sealable portable bottles for carrying such ingested liquid supplements. For example, many professional and amateur athletes consume protein formulas directly before their workout to maximize the efficiency and output of their effort, and may wish to ingest another such mixture afterwards.
Although many such powdered supplement and food products are packaged with measuring cups or spoons for proper measurement or dosing for the determined volume of liquid, the employment of such dispensing tools can be messy, prone to spills, and such are often imprecise. Such imprecision occurs due to powder-packing and spillage of excess powder beyond the edges of the measuring cup and can significantly vary the quantity and taste of the product dissolved in the liquid forming the drink.
Automatic measuring or dosing devices currently available in the art purport to solve the unmet need for a precise and clean dispensing system. However, such products are often designed for industrial use and are heavy and not particularly portable. Further, conventional measuring or dosing devices for mixing powders with liquids generally lack a means for dispensing carefully measured powder into the narrow openings of a bottle or drinking containers. Such results in powdered spillages and improperly mixed drinks.
As such there exists an unmet need for a lightweight and portable powder container for powder mixtures which must be measured accurately prior to being mixed with a liquid for ingestion by the user. Such a measuring or dosing device should be configured to accurately and easily dispense a volume of stored powder into a bottle or container. Such a device should be configured to communicate the accurately measured dose of powder into a narrow opening of a beverage container without loss or spillage and should do so hygienically. Because not all supplements ingested are provided in a soluble powder to be ingested as in liquid form, such a device should additionally include compartments for storing and carrying differing powdered products or supplements in pill or tablet form to allow the user to carry their nutritional products together. Finally, if the device functions as a reservoir for the powdered mix, such a device should be enabled with means to maintain the powder dry, to eliminate problems associated with moisture reaching a powder reservoir such as clumping, and mold growth for example.
The forgoing examples of related art and limitation related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive, and they do not imply any limitations on the invention described and claimed herein. Various limitations of the related art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the specification below and the accompanying drawings.